Hawaii volcano erupts, spews ash 6 miles into the sky

Hawaii volcano erupts, spews ash 6 miles into the sky

Author:
John Bacon, USA TODAY

Published:
12:10 PM EDT May 17, 2018

Updated:
3:03 PM EDT May 17, 2018

This Wednesday, May 16, 2018, image provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows sulfur dioxide plumes rising from fissures along the rift and accumulating in the cloud deck, viewed from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory overflight in the morning at 8:25 a.m., HST near Pahoa, Hawaii.

AP

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupted Thursday, the biggest explosion yet driving a plume of ash and debris 30,000 feet into the air and putting Big Island residents on further notice that a bigger blast could still be percolating in the volatile crater.

The state Civil Defense agency said the plume was drifting northeast and warned residents to shelter in place. Driving conditions may be dangerous due to low visibility, the agency warned.

"At any time, activity may again become more explosive, increasing the intensity of ash production and producing ballistic projectiles near the vent," the U.S. Geological Survey said on its Kilauea status page.

The steam-driven explosion occurred within Halema’uma’u Crater at Kilauea's summit at about 4:17 a.m. local time, and few Big Island residents were out and about.

Later emissions continued as high as 12,000 feet, USGS said. Ken Boyer, a resident of nearby Volcano Village, said he heard no rumbling and saw nothing out of the ordinary as daylight swept in.

“There’s no observable ash fall here right now in the Village,” he said. “It completely covered my vehicle last night but nothing this morning.”

About half a dozen schools closed due to elevated sulfur dioxide levels.

Mike Poland, a USGS geophysicist, told the Associated Press the explosion likely only lasted a few minutes. He said ash accumulations are minimal, with only trace amounts near the volcano and on the nearby town of Volcano.

Still, ash will affect local waters for several hours, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency warned. The National Weather Service issued an Ashfall Advisory for the area until noon local time. An Ashfall Advisory means that ash accumulation of less than one quarter inch is expected on boats.

The volcano is in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which has been closed since May 11. The lava seeping through fissures has forced the evacuation of nearly 2,000 people 25 miles away near Leilani Estates. More than two dozen homes have been destroyed in the neighborhood 35 miles from Hilo, the island’s largest city.

The fissures and lava flow there show no signs of stopping two weeks after a series of cracks began opening beneath the area. Wednesday afternoon, open pits or "vents" of lava roared and threw cinder-like ash into the surrounding jungle, igniting smoldering forest fires.

Contributing: Denise Laitinen and Trevor Hughes; The Associated Press

Warning from @CivilDefenseHI that an explosive eruption has occurred at #Kilauea. Ash plume expected to spread to SE. Driving conditions may be dangerous. Shelter in place if you can.

A woman tries to talk to a national guardsmen to gain entry to the Leilani Estates, Friday, in Pahoa, Hawaii. A mandatory evacuation forced many residents to flee their homes due to a nearby lava eruption.

02/11

Results from the eruption of Kilauea Volcano on Hawaii's Big Island can be seen Friday. The eruption sent molten lava through forests and bubbling up from paved streets and forced the evacuation of about 1,500 people who were still out of their homes Friday after Thursday's eruption.

03/11

Mary Ann Sullivan, 59, looks at her belongings and her cat she pulled from her home after a mandatory evacuation of the Leilani Estates due to a lava eruption, Friday, in Pahoa, HI. The eruption took place about a block from Sullivan's home. Sullivan and her husband spent the night at a nearby shelter and does not know when they will be able to return.

04/11

National guardsmen and police stand at the entrance to Leilani Estates, in Pahoa, Hawaii. A mandatory evacuation for the area as declared by the state. Due to unsafe conditions in the area from the recent lava eruption, residents who evacuated could not return to their homes Friday.

05/11

After a mandatory evacuation due to a lava eruption yesterday, Leilani Estates residents line up on the road leading to the area in Pahoa, Hawaii.

06/11

After being forced out of his home at the Leilani Estates due to a mandatory evacuation, Tim Sullivan, 61, sits in his pickup truck near a local shelter, Friday, May 4, 2018, in Pahoa, HI. The eruption took place about a block from Sullivan's home. He and his wife spent the night at a nearby shelter and does not know when they will be able to return.

07/11

This photo provided by Hawaii Electric Light shows lava flowing over Mohala Street in the Leilani Estates area near Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii. Nearly 1,500 people have fled from their homes after Hawaii's Kilauea volcano sent molten lava chewing through forests and bubbling up on paved streets in an eruption that one resident described as "a curtain of fire." (Hawaii Electric Light via AP) ORG XMIT: LA508

08/11

Residents from the nearby Leilani Estates sleep in their cars after being forced out of there homes by a lava eruption.

09/11

Mary Hicks, 56, left, and Tim Hicks, 51, both residents of the Leilani Estates, spent the night in their car after being evacuated from their home.

10/11

A woman with two dogs in her car tries to enter the Leilani Estates.

11/11

A road is cracked after the eruption from Kilauea Volcano on Hawaii's Big Island Friday, May 4, 2018. The Kilauea volcano sent more lava into Hawaii communities Friday, a day after forcing nearly 1,500 people to flee from their mountainside homes, and authorities detected high levels of sulfur gas that could threaten the elderly and people with breathing problems.